Hi Gang,
I have a Low-D dixon which I really like but it’s very quiet…especially on the low end. I’m wondering if the hi-D has the same problem.
I have an Eflat susato that is very loud (in a good way) but is prone to vaporlock (Ihaven’t tried the soap thing yet)
Can anyone tell me how the dixon would compare volume and tone-wise to the susato (or any other whislte)?
Thanks
Patrick
My Dixon high D is the loudest high D I own (and I own a Susato D). And all whistles need the “soap thing” at some point, including Dixons.
My Dixon soprano D (non-tunable) is loud enough to be heard when playing along with a guitar and bodhran.
I have a Dixon soprano D, nontuneable. I love it. It is a little quieter than my Susato, but it doesn’t have the shrill edge in the upper octave that I seem to get from my Susato.
I actually love both the whistles. They both have a very clean sound and both are loud. The Dixon is my second-loudest whistle. The Susato is loudest of my small collection.
Good whistles, both.
-Patrick
My favourite is the soprano D. It sings out above the Bodhran and fiddles. I loved it so much I bought a C and then a Low A which is wonderfully mellow and ghostly. My dog prefers the Dixon. She ate my Susato but hasn’t touched the Dixons.
Selkies and ferrets play whistles at Rainbow Bridge whilst dogs chew them!
[ This Message was edited by: selkie on 2002-06-14 19:39 ]
I have a range of Dixons and Susato’s in the shop. The Susato’s have a slight edge on loudness, but not much - over the Dixon. It is a loud, sweet whistle, in my view.
Steve
I have two Dixon tuneable (non-brass slide) soprano Ds and a Susato VSB soprano D, and I can offer some personal observations. One of the Dixons is a bit louder than the other and both seem to be louder than the VSB Susato. It’s difficult to explain, but although the Susato sounds loud to me when playing it, the Dixons seem to carry/project better at a given distance from me according to those who have heard me play both, especially in the upper registers. I’ve never played a standard bore Susato which is supposed to be extremely loud, so it may be louder than the Dixons, but I can’t make that comparison.
As for tone, the Susato VSB has a clean, bright but nice tone, albeit a bit harsh in the upper register and a bit thin on a couple notes. Accuracy is excellent. The Dixons are much fuller sounding in both octaves, but still have a brightness that cuts well. The upper register is clear, even and bright, and just sounds better to me than the Susato. Don’t get me wrong…I play the Susato a lot but tend to play the louder of the two Dixons more. Depends what the mood is or which fits a particular tune better.
I’ve had accuracy problems with both Dixons, requring enlargement of the “A” hole which was flat on both whistles, and I had to place a piece of black tape over part of the “G” hole on the louder Dixon which was a bit sharp. These tweaks greatly improved the overall accuracy and now the louder Dixon is an excellent whistle and gets played more than any whistle I own.
Both are nice whistles…just depends which suits you best.
I have had several Dixon tunables and currently have 2 regular (D&C) and one of the new brass slides (D). The brass slide D is my primary practice whistle, replacing a medium bore Burke composite. I have a lot of less expensive whistles including Clarks, Feadogs, Waldens, etc. I also have had a couple of Susato’s. The dixons are, to my ear, a cut above all of these. They are easier to play. Mine have been pretty much in tune and the volumn across octaves is much more even than the susatos. There is just a bit of breathyness to the brass slided dixon which is a little more pronounce in the regular tunables. They are medium loud but clear enough to carry, as some others have mentioned.
Why have I had several and now only 3? Because whenever I get an extra, I tend to let folks try it. Their usual response to trying a dixon is to ask where can they get one, so I sell it to them at my cost. So far I’ve sold 3 and given 3 away as followup whistle presents to folks I gave whistles to before.
I’ve played a number of expensive whistles that I liked better; but, all are in the over $120 dollar range. I can’t quite afford to go there yet.
For the price, I think the dixons are great. I think they fill a valuable role as the top of the in-expensive whistles.